Saying Good-Bye

The last few days have been such a turn of events for us. I was expecting another week and half in Mexico, but now we are already home. It's weird how things change so fast. The last two days we were in Mexico, my Mom was having really bad headaches. She also had lost control of her bladder. The doctor talked to me and said he wasn't sure if it was permanent or just a side effect from the Radiation. But we all agreed the radiation isn't doing any good, only harm. So, basically Dr. Quintana, said there was nothing else to do in Mexico at this time. I had written an email to many people explaining all of this and I mentioned that our last hope was gone. I need to clarify though, we were told before ever going to Mexico that it was our last hope. What I meant by all of it was that our last option was gone. We still have the Lord, and he is the best doctor. We could be in Mexico, Missouri, or China, God works anywhere. Lately, I think it has been really hard for me to totally trust the Lord because for some reason I feel like I've been let down. I know this isn't right though. God gives and takes away breath, we shouldn't expect any day. But I was just so sure she would be healed, and now we are being sent home, this didn't make since. I'm still really confused, I don't know what to think. I know I can't give up hope, but it isn't as easy to hold on to right now.(Mandy, My Mom, and Me)

My Mom doesn't know that we were sent home. She was just so happy to find out we were leaving. She has wanted to come home for so long now. Saying good bye was really tough for me. I am not sure when I will see them all again, and we have so many great friends down there now. I'll never forget any of them. :) Mexico will always be so special to me!

(Mucho Loco de la Cabesa)

At the airport in San Diego, our friends Art and Adele and their daughter Alyssa came to see us off. It was really nice to see them before we left. We had a little bit of time before we had to go past security so we decided to get a bite to eat. Well, while we were ordering, I went back to ask my Mom something and she was in the middle of a seizure. Her hand was bent up next to her face and her tounge and jaw were doing very weird things. She was shaking a little and her head was tipped. It was one of the scariest things for me. Everyone was staring at us because my sister and I were crying. Our friends were huddled over her and praying for her and withing 5 minutes she came out of it. She was just crying. I was still just so scared. I talked to David and the doctor, I didnt know what to do. What if this happend while we were on the plane? All of this showed me something though. My first reaction was to cry and then call the doctor or David. Why didn't I turn to the Lord? This is what I mean, my trust isn't fully in him. Oh, how I need to change this. But how? Prayer works, I saw that yesterday, I just wish I would have turned to HIM first. Well, my Mom ended up doing great on the flight. She actually seemed to have more strength after the seizure. She was really hungry and just wanted to eat.

We got into STL around 11:30 last night and then got home by 12:30. We were all exhausted I think. A friend of ours, Mrs. Tate, stayed the night to help, if there were any problems. She is such a great help to us. It ended up that my Mom only got up once in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom and had no other trouble. It seems like the bladder problem she was having was only temporary. Praise God! She also woke up with no headache. I was just so amazed to wake up hearing this good news. We have started her on some seizure medicine, so now she is sleeping, the doctor told us it will make her drowsy. Other than that though, she feels great today. She is so happy to be home and with her friends and family. :)

I also wanted to say one more thing. I wrote earlier in a different post about God not wanting some to be crippled or sick, but after lots of thinking I have changed my mind. I thought that the sickness resulted from sin, that's what I've been told, but I thought of some friends and different family members. What sin would a little boy have commited to get diabetes? Or when a child is born mentally handicapped, that isn't from his sin or the way he lived his life. We accept all the blessings with no question, but when things go wrong we look for reasons. A friend sent me this scripture:
"So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord and struck Job with loathsome sores from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head. And he took a piece of broken pottery with which to scrape himself while he sat in the ashes. Then his wife said to him, "Do you still hold fast to your integrity? Curse God and die." But he said to her, "You speak as one of the foolish women would speak. Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?" In all this Job did not sin with his lips. Job 2:7-10

So, I am sorry if I offended anyone, it was not my intention. I was wrong, a different friend was talking with me this morning and we were talking about the different ways God can get glory. I can't remember all of the scriptures. But the main three we talked about that we don't usually think about were through persectuion, sickness and even death. The verse about sickness is:

John 11:4 "When Jesus heard [that], he said, This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby."

Here are some pictures from the last day!

Dr. Quintana's new baby boy, Emilio!